Published: September 11, 2026
MONROVIA — An unmanned boat that came ashore behind the Monrovia Central Prison and drifted down the coast to Miami Beach is now in Liberia Coast Guard custody at Mesurado Pier, with no official finding yet on who owns it, what it was carrying or how it reached the ocean, even as a Canadian national has come forward to claim it.
By Gibson Gee
The vessel was first noticed around South Beach late Wednesday night. Residents secured it hours later with ropes before Coast Guard personnel, the Liberia National Police and other security agencies took over the scene and towed it to the base on Bushrod Island for examination.
Its discovery without a crew, in the coastal shadow of a high-security prison, has driven fast public speculation. Authorities have not publicly established the vessel’s type, origin, ownership, destination or whether it figured in any criminal activity.
Three accounts of the boat’s journey have emerged, and they do not fully reconcile. A resident who helped secure it describes it drifting along the coastline to Miami Beach. Mark Debah Doe II says he and others encountered the same boat earlier on the St. Paul River and tried to find its owner. And Charlie, a Canadian national claiming ownership, says the boat lost its moorings after being left parked and drifted into the ocean on its own.
The boat appears at South Beach
An eyewitness who identified himself only as Sensee, known locally as Zola, said the vessel was first spotted about 10 p.m. Wednesday near South Beach, near Joanna Clinic. It was empty and kept moving along the coastline, reaching the Miami Beach area between roughly 3:45 and 4 a.m.
By then, residents had grown uneasy about how the boat was moving. They tried to hold it but couldn’t.
“We tried holding the boat, but the boat was too heavy,” Sensee said.
Several more people joined and used ropes to secure it. As the crowd grew, security personnel arrived and took control, instructing residents not to board the vessel, remove anything from it or tamper with it.
What residents say they found
Before the perimeter went up, Sensee said, people who reached the boat reported seeing two bedsheets, underwear, a cigarette pack and a lighter. He said the fuel tank still held fuel and that some individuals tried to siphon it before others intervened.
Authorities have not confirmed the presence of those items or said whether they bear on the investigation.
Sensee said the vessel carried no visible flag, registration number, or other marking to identify its nationality or ownership, and that residents stayed cautious because they could not tell who was operating it or why it was moving without anyone aboard.
Coast Guard struggles to tow the vessel
The removal was complicated by rough seas, according to Sensee. Coast Guard personnel used their own boats and worked with residents to run a rope to the vessel and pull it clear of the shoreline. They took it from Miami Beach to Mesurado Pier, where it remains in government custody.
Charlie claims ownership
As the boat became the subject of widespread discussion, a Canadian national identified as Charlie told OK FM that he owns it and rejected any suggestion it was tied to illegal activity.
Charlie said he has traveled in and out of Liberia since 2006 and bought the boat as a work vessel for mineral exploration and sand sampling in Liberian rivers. The project stalled when he could not raise the resources to proceed. He then considered using it for fishing before leaving it parked.
The boat was looted and lost its moorings, he said, after which it drifted into the ocean and down the coast. He said he was told it had been seen around South Beach and later at Miami Beach, where someone anchored it.
Charlie said he had already spoken with police and that an officer who knew him and the boat acknowledged his ownership claim. He had not gone to police headquarters at the time of the interview but expected to continue talking with investigators.
He described the vessel as a solid work boat with two diesel engines carrying relatively low operating hours. He acknowledged wear and outstanding repairs but said it was built to international shipping standards and designed to operate as far as 50 miles offshore.
Charlie said he owns two similar boats that had been parked for an extended period near the St. Paul River. He denied that the vessel was involved in drug trafficking. At the time of the interview he was in Brewerville, handling calls and arrangements to retrieve it, and had not traveled to where it was recovered.
The St. Paul River connection
Charlie’s account runs alongside an earlier one from Mark Debah Doe II, who says he was among those who first found the vessel.
Doe said he and others spotted the boat floating on the St. Paul River near a bridge leading toward the Panama area. They secured it and took photographs, which were later circulated on social media in an effort to identify the owner.
A man then came forward claiming the boat and said he would return for it, according to Doe. The man later arranged for the vessel to be taken but did not reclaim it, and the boat left the spot where it had been secured.
Doe said he received information that the vessel had resurfaced and reported it to the Liberia National Police through the 178 hotline. He has said publicly that posting his contact details was meant to help locate the owner, not to present himself as one, and denied claiming the boat.
Conflicting accounts, unanswered questions
The two accounts together offer a plausible explanation for the boat’s earlier presence on the St. Paul River. Neither establishes the route it took to South Beach, and authorities have not confirmed Charlie’s ownership claim.
That leaves the substance of the matter open. How the boat moved from a river into open ocean. When it lost its moorings. Who last had physical control of it. Who moved or anchored it after it was first found. Why it was crewless when it reached the coast. And what was aboard when it did.
Security authorities take control
The vessel’s appearance near Monrovia Central Prison, a high-security facility, helped drive the security response.
Prison authorities, contacted by The Liberian Investigator, said they could not comment because the security agencies and the Coast Guard had taken control of the vessel, and referred further questions to those agencies.
Kollie alleges cover-up
Exiled Liberian activist Martin Kollie has publicly questioned the explanations offered so far, challenging accounts he attributed to Mark Doe and Tarplah Doe.
“The strange boat, without a crew, that mysteriously docked behind South Beach and was later pushed to Miami Beach. The claims by Mark Doe and Tarplah Doe are a coverup. We’ll expose everything to the Nation,” Kollie wrote.
He said he would provide further information to dismantle their claims. He has not yet done so.
No official identification yet
The Coast Guard has not publicly disclosed the vessel’s classification or given any account of its inspection. The Liberian Investigator will continue to pursue answers as authorities examine the boat.
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